Andrew Denton, sentenced for Meadowbrook brick-throwing in 2015, arrested in multiple shootings and for impersonating police, Nassau DA says

A Massapequa man who served a reduced 10-year prison sentence for injuring a driver by throwing bricks off a Uniondale overpass is back behind bars on a 64-count indictment charging him with multiple shootings in Nassau and pretending to be a police officer, the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office said.

Andrew Denton, 27, pleaded not guilty Wednesday to nearly two dozen felony and misdemeanor counts of criminal possession of a weapon, six counts of reckless endangerment, impersonating a police officer, criminal mischief and other charges.

Supreme Court Justice Helene F. Gugerty set his bail at $100,000 cash and he was remanded back into custody, where he was already being held on similar charges, prosecutors said.

In 2017, Denton was sentenced to a decade behind bars for leaving a college student with permanent scarring to her eyes after he and a friend, Jacob Palant, sent a brick through her windshield as she drove on the Meadowbrook State Parkway on Dec. 26, 2015.

Denton, who was 19 at the time, threw multiple bricks off the overpass, hitting three other cars, according to court records. He and Palant paused for dinner and then went back to the overpass and continued the reckless behavior, according to court records.

Acting Supreme Court Justice Meryl J. Berkowitz told Denton at his sentencing that he showed "disregard to life" and said the victim now suffers from blurred vision and can’t drive at night, Newsday reported at the time.

While awaiting trial in that case, Denton fashioned two fake guns out of soap with the intention of using them to break out of jail, a charge he pleaded guilty to.

A state appellate court reduced some of the charges in the conviction after Denton’s lawyer said they were duplicative. As a result of the ruling, his sentence was reduced by about half.

He got out of state prison in March 2022.

Prosecutors charge that beginning in October of that year, Denton and several co-defendants acquired several rifles along with .32- and .45-caliber handguns and, over the next year, fired off rounds in the Massapequa Preserve, Brady Park and a Massapequa backyard.

He bought the .45 from former NYPD sergeant Anthony Califano, whose permits were revoked. Califano was also charged in the indictment with criminal sale of a weapon and other charges..

A Massapequa woman and three other men were also charged with weapons and reckless endangerment as part of the same indictment.

Authorities note that the park and preserve has nature trails and bike paths where people often walk, and it sits across from a train station and a church schoolyard.

In November 2022, Denton — driving a white Chevrolet Impala outfitted with emergency lights — pulled up behind a driver and attempted to pull them over, prosecutors said. When the driver refused, Denton sped off through residential streets, according to Nassau District Attorney Anne Donnelly.

On Dec. 20, 2022, he pulled his Impala up to a car parked on Silverton Avenue in Wantagh and fired several rounds from the .32-caliber pistol into the side of the car, prosecutors said.

"For nearly a year, Andrew Denton allegedly engaged in dangerous criminal behavior, firing illegal weapons at parks around Massapequa close to pedestrian walking paths and bikeways, and in front of a home in Wantagh, and masqueraded as a police officer on our county roads," Donnelly said in a news release. "Denton already has an active prosecution with my office for allegedly carrying an NYPD shield, handcuffs, tactical vest, other police paraphernalia and a loaded .45-caliber handgun in his Chevrolet Impala that was also fitted with lights and sirens."

The prosecutor encouraged anyone who believes they were targeted by Denton to call (516) 571-3707 to report the incident.

He also was charged in January and February with possession of dangerous prison contraband while in lockup.

Denton’s lawyer, Adam Neal, said he is reviewing the charges.

Denton faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted. He's due back in court in April.